Circular-rib-knitting machine.



.No. 729,074. PATENTED MAY'ZB, 1903.

P. LASHER.

CIRCULAR RIB KNITTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, 1897.

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PATENTED MAY 26, 1903.

F. LASHER.

CIRCULAR RIB KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIOK FILED JULY 9, 1897.

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PATENTED MAY 26, 1903.

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No. 729,074. PATENTED MAY 26; 1903:

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APPLIOAIION FILED JULY 9. 1897. I

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war/D40 FRANK LAEHER.

im/m0 W c? wm/wwflflg UNITED STATES Patented May 26, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CIRCULAR-RlB-KNIITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,074, dated May 26, 1903.

Application filed July 9, 1897. Serial No. 643,9 50. \No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK LASHER, of the village of Bennington, in the county of Bennington and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gircular-Rib-Knitting Machines, of which invention the subjoined description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, constitutes a specification.

This invention belongs to that class of machines-designed to produce tubular ribbed work for bodies of knit garments, and is designed to combineinone machine bynovel and improved construction all the advantages which are characteristic of the use of two sets of barbed -springneedles, sinkers instead of bur-wheels to sink the stitches, and rotary instead of stationary pressers to press the needle-barbs. The peculiar construction of one needle-cylinderand one set of the springneedles in this machine renders the use of sinkers entirely feasible, while the relative arrangement and disposition of the cylinders and the sinker-case permits the use of a rotary presserewheel for each set of needles.

The drawings fully disclose the invention, in which- Figure 1 presents a side elevation of my machine with parts of the frame broken away and a section of the fabric torn out. Fig. 2 is a sectional detail of a part of the mechanism for driving the take-up. Fig. 3 is a broken plan of the machine, showing a part of its upper table, a part of the sinker-case, and a part of the top of the lower needlecylinder. Fig. at is a vertical section of the needle-cylinders and driving-gears, taken on the line 00 a: of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a radial semisection of the needlecylinders, taken on the plane of the axis of the upperpresser-wheel-stand socket. Fig. 6 is a radial sectional detail, on an enlarged scale, showing position of the upper needle when acted on by the lower presser. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the interior of the sinkercase, its cap being broken away to show its contents and exhibits the cams and slur-cock which govern the movements of the sinkers. Fig. 8 is an unfolded view or plan of the up per and lower jack-shank races of the two cylinders and shows the character of the movements of the two sets of needles and their cooperation with each other and with other parts of the machine. Fig. 9 isa radial sectional detail taken through the plane of the needle-jack groove and shows the elevated position of the needle.

A general idea of the principal features of this machine may be obtained from Fig. 1. The mechanism is mounted on a frame or standard 1, to the sides of which are attached two uprights 5O 50, to the upper part of which the take-up apparatus is attached. On the top of stand 1 the table 2 iscarried, which is centrally bored to receive the running-bearing of the lower needle-cylinder ring 16. To the under side of this ring the driving-gear 6 is fastened. To the under side of this gear is attached a cross-piece 43, which affords a bearing for the spindle 48, which drives the take-up-reel frame 65. To the upper side of the cylinder-ring 16 the lower needle-cylinder 17 is connected and revolves therewith. This cylinder is externally finished to the form shown in cross-section in Fig. 5. longitudinally grooved for the needles 30, which are of common shape. Each needle is connected with a jack 31, which rides in the needle-groove, the connection between the needle and jack being a loose or separable one, so that the needle can be detached from its jacl: whenever necessary to repair or replace. The machine here illustrated is adapted" to take four feeds, and in accordance therewith the lowercylinder is surrounded with four cam-stands 20, each of which is bolted to the table by bolts which pass through slots, so as to permit of circumferential adjustment of thestand. Ontheinsideofeachofthesecamstands are secured the needle-driving cams 21 and 21 the forms of which are shown in Fig. 8. The needles are confinedin position by the spring'bands 72, and another band 40 encircles the cylinder belowthe jacks and serves to support them when they are dropped to their lowest limit. An upper table 4 is supported on four posts 3 3 3 3 and is bored to take in the upper driving-gear 7, to the under side of which the upperor conical needle-cylinder 18 is attached. The form of this cylinder is best shown in Figs. 5 and 9 in cross-section. The cross-section shown in Fig. 5 is taken through the trick between the needle-grooves, while the section seen in Fig.

9 is taken on a radial plane through the needle-groove or between the tricks. It will be observed that the lower-edge of this upper needle-cylinder is made trumpet-shaped' that is to say, the part between the point 18 and 18 of Fig. 9 flares outwardly-and its edge is grooved to receive and guide the needies in the same manner as the upper edge of the lower cylinder is cut to receive the needles of that section. Thusit will be seen that the bottoms of the needle-grooves of the cone-cylinder 18 are in two planes, the lower projecting a considerable distance in front of the upper one. The needles 27, which play in these grooves, are bent to conform to the trumpet-mouth shape ofthe cylinder, as seen in Fig. 9. of the needle-cylinder and the corresponding bend in the needle is to accommodate the inward or yarn-sinking thrust of the sinkers 26, which reciprocate in the same vertical plane as that of the needles 27, and if it were not for such shape or some conformation of the parts equivalent thereto the sinkers would collide with the needles 27 and their proper functional movement to sink the yarn between the needles of the lower cylinder would be defeated. Herein lies an important part of my improvement.

To the under side of table 4 a conical cam ring or hoop 22 is suspended, upon the inner surface of which are disposed four sets of jack-actuating cams 23 and 23, which govern the reciprocation of the upper set of needles. Figs. 5 and 9 show in section the relation of these cams to the needle-jacks, and their position in relation to the lower sets of jack-actuating cams is seen in the diagram Fig. 8. As the construction and mode of operation of these needles, jacks, and cams is a matter of common understanding, I do not here enter upon a detailed description of the same. v

One part of my invention consists in the construction and relative arrangement of the sinker-bed and the presser-wheels, whereby I am enabled to successfully use spring-nee dles, rotary presser-wheels, and .sinkers in combination with rotating needle-cylinders. I am not aware that this combination has ever hitherto been made to operate successfnllyin practical use. To accomplish this end, I have provided a sinker-bed 8, which consists of a flat annular ring radially grooved on one side for the sinkers 26 and concentrically channeled on the other side to form a way to run on a series of sectional tracks 71, which are an appurtenance of the stands 19. The location of these track-stands 19 is indicated in Fig. 3, and there may be any number of them, according to the number of feeds to be introduced. The outer edge of this bed is toothed, so that it may be driven by the pinion 10 on shaft in unison with the needlecylinders 17 and 18, as seen in Fig. 4. The sinker-bed is covered by a cap 24, to the under side of which the slur-cocks and The object of this flaring shape the draw cams 25", Fig. 7, are attached. These control the movements of the sinkers by means of the shanks 26 as they are carried around into contact with the slur-cocks and cams.

It will be seenfrom the foregoing that by using two tables 2 and 4 for the support of the cylinders 17 and 18 and their adjunctive parts, respectively, the principal table is relieved of the support and attachment of the upper cylinder and its cooperative parts, and more room is thus afiorded for the introduction of the sinker-bed and its supports, and instead of using a complete circular or continuous track for the sinker-bed to run on I have only used sections of such a track, thereby creating intervals between the sections, which are clear and open up to the under side of the sinker-bed. In these intervals there is plenty of space to locate the presserstands and carry the wheels up to their proper working positions opposite the barbs of the needles, as in the ordinary single-cylinder machine for knitting plain cloth.

There are two sets of presser-wheels 32 and 39, which operate in difierent vertical planes. The upper set acts uponthe barbs of the lower set of needles, while the lower set acts upon the barbs of the upper set of needles. Their relative positions may be seen in Fig. 1. These presser-wheels and their stands differ in no material way from similar structures in common use. The stands 33, upon which they are mounted, are fastened to the lower table 2. There is a pair of pressers for each slur-cock and sinker-actuating cam.

The gears 6, 7, and 8 are of uniform diam eter and pitch and are respectively driven by the pinions 9, l1, and 10, which are carried on the vertical driving-shaft 15. The latter is driven through gear 54 by gear 55 on the counter-shaft 56 at the top of the machine. As it is necessary that perfect alinement of the sinker-s and the needles of the upper cylinder with the tricks or intervals between the needle-grooves of the lower cylinder should be maintained, an adjusting device for that purpose has been provided,which is seen in plan and in elevation in Figs. 3 and 4. The hubs of the pinions 10 and 11 are enlarged on one side, as shown at Y, so as to afford space to form a clear opening around the spline 13, which is seated in a groove in the shaft and projects into the yoke. Adjusting-screws 12, 14, and 14 pass through the back and sides of the yoke and bear against thesides and edge of the spline. By means of the side screws 14 and 14 the pinions 10 and 11 may be slightly turned about the shaft 15. The pinion 9 is rigidly fastened to the shaft, so that any variation in the position of either or both of the pinions 10 or 11 will be with reference to the bottom pinion 9. As the gears 6, 7, and 8, which mesh with the pinions 9, 11, and 10, respectively, will be afiected relatively by the adjustments just described, it appears that any desired relashort and light that the spring-bands which encircle the needles can and will unaided and alone retain them in their correct positions in the grooves of the needle-cylinder, and when so constructed nothing whatever is required to confine the jacks in their grooves other than the device which confines the needles therein, whether it be a spring-band or some substitute or equivalent therefor. The jacks are made so short and light that they will not be materially displaced radially by the centrifugal force of rotation, nor will their weight cause them to drop below their operative positions. This feature of this invention permits the jack-race to be broken up into sections, so as to leave free and un obstructed openings between the needle-cam stands,where both cylinders, with their needles and jacks, become exposed and accessible for removal or replacement of either needles or jacks or repairs of the cylinders. Thusif the cam-stands were all removed from the machine the spring-bands will hold all the needles and jacks in position securely. This facilitates the use of much finer gages of needles and promotes a higher rate of speed.

By removing one set of needles the machine becomes available to make plain cloth of the same kind and quality as that made on straight-knitting machines using springneedles and sinkers.

I therefore claim as my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, the following:

1. The combination in a circular-knitting machine, of a needle-cylinder and a set of independent spring-needles, a rotating sinkerbed concentric with the needle-cylinder and a series of sinkers, a rotary disk presser, and means for actuating said cylinder, needles, sinker-bed and sinkers.

2. The combination in a circular-rib-knitting machine of two needle-cylinders and two sets of barbed spring-needles, a sinker-bed and a series of sinkers, a rotary disk presser for each set of needles, and means for actuating said cylinders, needles, sinker-bed and sinkers.

3. In a circnlar-rib-knitting machine, a pair of needle-cylinders and needles,a sinkerbed and sinkers, a rotary disk presser for each set of needles located beneath the sinkerbed, and means for actuating said cylinders, needles, sinker-bed and sinkers.

4. The combination in a circular-rib-knitting machine, of two needle-cylinders and two sets of independent needles, with an annular concentric sinker-bed equipped with sliding sinkers, and means connected therewith for actuating said cylinder, needles, sinker-bed and sinkers.

5. The combination in a circular-rib-knitting machine, of two needle-cylinders,the upper one of which has an open top, equipped with independent needles, with an annular concentric sinker-bed equipped with independent sliding sinkers, and means connected therewith for actuating said cylinders, needles, sinker-bed and sinkers.

6. The combination in a circular-rib-knitting machine employing spring-needles, of an annular sinker-bed and sinkers, and attack consisting of sections upon which said sinkerbed runs, leaving open intervals between them.

7. As an improvement in knittingmachines a needle-bed having a rabbet therein between the head and butt of the needle, in combination with a yielding appliance for confining the needle in position by pressing it toward the rabbet', whereby the resilience of the needles under such pressure forces them against the yielding appliance which in virtue thereof acts in the nature of a cushion, substantially as specified.

8. The combination in a circular-rib-knitting machine with a needle-cylinder, a series of individually-movable needles, a series of sinkers adapted to sink the yarn between said needles, and means for actuating the same; of anotherneedle-cylinder and a series of needles adapted to work between the needles of the first-named series and in the same field of action as the sinkers; each of the last-named series of needles having an inset or bend opposite and away from the front end of the sinker sufficient to permit the sinker to sink the loop between the adjacent needles of the first-named series without colliding with the needles of the last-named series.

9. The combination with a grooved needlecylinder, of a needle-jack having one end of the body thereof split with a longitudinal slot to receive the butt of the needle,a needle having a butt to fit said slot, said slot and butt extremity of the needle having provisions for preventing the longitudinal withdrawal of the needle from the slot, the connection between the needle and the jack being a separable one, the needle and the body of the jack being confined laterally and adapted to slide between the walls of the needle-groove of the cylinder, and means surrounding the cylinder and circumventing the needles for preventing their radial displacement from the grooves; by virtue of which combination the means for confining the needles hold them in their grooves, and the needles, by virtue of the said slot connections with the jacks, are adapted, without other aid, to hold the jacks in their grooves after the jacks have emerged from the needle-actuating cam-race, substantially as specified.

10. In a circular-knitting machine,the combination with a grooved needle-cylinder of a series of short, light needle-jacks and a series of corresponding needles, each needle and jack being united by a connection which is inseparable when the needle and jack are in operative position in their groove in the cylinder but separable when removed therefrom, and a device for confining the needles inthe grooves which encircles the cylinder tive adjustment within proper bounds can be effected by the yoke and screws, as stated above.

The take-up reel 65 is hung from the top of the frame of the machine in a vertical bearing 51, so as to revolve freely therein. This reel is equipped with the necessary rollers, beam, 850., and is driven by a cross-head 63. on the stretcher-hoop 62, which is carried on the driving-spindle 48. Spindle 48 is journaled in the cross-piece 43 and has rigidly attached to it a cross-bar 45, which rests on the upper side of cross-piece 43 and also has a collar 44 attached to its lower end to prevent lifting. are two lugs 43 and 43, between which the cross-bar 45 can vibrate, as seen in Fig. 3. The ends of the-cross-bar 45 are connected by contractile springs 46 with pins 43 on the cross-piece 43. The object of this arrangement is to relieve or overcome in as easy a manner as possible the inertia of the take-up apparatus when the machine is started up. When the machineis started, theinitial movement of the cross-piece 43 tends to stretch the springs 46 before the reel starts, so that by the time the arm 45 has advanced so as to contact with lug 43 the inertia of the standing take-up mechanism will have been well neutralized. This relieves the machine of the strain due to the sudden shock which otherwise would attend asudden startof the machine. 7

In arranging the angle of inclination of the grooves of the needles in the two needle-cylinders with reference to each other I have only inclined one set sufficiently away from the other that when the needles of both sets are advanced or thrown forward, so as to cross -each other, as in Fig. 5, the barbs will be prorestrict myself in this case to the combina tion of one straight and one coned cylinder,

' but have adopted the latter style for convenience in building and for the reason that to make the bottom cylinder straight affords more room for making suitable connections with the shaft which drives the take-up.

Many circular-rib-knitting machines have heretofore been used employing one needlecylinder and a dial equipped with needles, the dial being located above the needle-cylinder, thus closing in the interior of the machine and compelling the cloth to be taken off below the lower cylinder. Serious objections to the dial exist, and it cannot be used in a machine where it is desirable or necessary to take off the fabric above the upper On the upper side of cross-piece 43.

set of needles. Another grave defect or limitation in the dial is that by reason of the radial character of the needle grooves the finest gages or the finest needles cannot be used, because in grooving the needle-bed of the dial the converging needle-channels will run together a short distance back from the periphery of the dial. The horizontal position of the radial needles does not lend itself favorably to cooperation with pressers, and therefore, so far as known, dials have generally hitherto been equipped with latch-needles. For these reasons an open-top needlecylinder, preferably conical, affords facilities for taking off the cloth through this open top, for obtaining access to the interior of the machine, for constructing finer gages and using finer needles, for rendering the needles and their actuating cams and jacks more accessible, and for using rotary disk pressers, which the dial does not possess.

By-reference to Figs. 5, 6, and 9 the peculiarities of construction of the needle-jacks, needles, and'needle-bed may be understood. One object of this construction is to lift the needle off the bottom of the needle-groove, so that it will not ride on its back except in the very short grooves at the edges of the needlecylinders', and another is to permit the retaining-bands to contract upon the fronts of the needles, so as to transfer the bearing and friction of their action to the back edges of the jacks and to the bottoms of the grooves at the edges of the cylinders. Referring to Fig. 9, it will be seen that jack 28 slides on the bottom 18 of the needle-groove. It is slotted longitudinally for the reception of the needle, so that the needle is set out or away from the bottom of the groove. The cross-slot for the butt of the needle is turned toward the driving-shank of the jack,- so that a very reliable connection between them is thus effected. As the surface of the cylinder, as at 18", is rabbeted below the plane of the back sides of the needles, it is impossible for them to ride on their backs at this point. As the retaining spring-bands 29 span the needles in front of this open interval, their contraction tends to draw the needles toward the cylinder, thus holding the jacks to their working position in the bottoms of the needle-grooves and the points of the needles to their proper positions at the edge of the cylinders. The relative depths of the bottoms of the spring-band grooves and of the needle-grooves is such that the contraction of the bands will gently spring the needles back or press them to the bottoms of their grooves, whereby the resilient tendency of the needles to straighten is resisted by a yielding contractile pressure, which is exerted by the spring-bands and is in the nature of a cushion. The advantages resulting from this design of needle and jack coupled as shown in combination with the grooved needle-cylinder and spring-bands are that the jack may and should be made so and needles between their heads and the In testimony whereof I have hereto subjacks, which needle-retaining device is adaptscribed my'name in the presence of two wited to hold the jacks in operative positions in nesses.

the cylinder-grooves by means of the needles FRANK LASHER. themselves operating through their respec- Witnesses: tive coupling attachments with the jacks,snb- FRANKLIN SCOTT,

stantially as specified. MERRIT C. HOLT. 

